Build a better bench stop and the world will beat a mousetrap to your door. In other words, has anyone ever been truly satisfied with the state of bench stops? It stands to reason the answer is no. Patterns and patents abound, likely owing to contradictions inherent in a bench stop's matrix of desirable features.
By example: steel construction may grip the workpiece firmly, but it will do considerable damage to a plane iron in the event of a crash. Softer materials are safer, but prone to wear, swelling, and deformation. Some designs require major bench surgery to install, while others, small and fiddly, often chance being lost. Generally, the method of adjustment will range from irksome to infuriating.
It seems to me there is a quote, probably attributable to Tage Frid, that goes something like this:
"An ideal table will be weighty and rigidly constructed, but easily transportable by a single person, It should be adjustable in height as well as length but require no convoluted mechanisms or removable leaves. It should fit in any room, accommodate any number of guests, have no legs whatsoever and be, on a whim, removable altogether."
Naturally, if someone can correctly attribute this or perhaps just direct me to an unbutchered rendition of this statement, I'd appreciate it. If, on the other hand, you'd prefer dismiss bench stop hand-wringing altogether in favor of something tweakier, Scroll down for a bit from "Shop" on the subject of hammer straightening circular saws. -TIM
Disclaimer: Articles in Work: The Illustrated Weekly Journal for Mechanics describe materials and methods that would not be considered safe or advisable today. We are not responsible for the content of these magazines, and cannot take any responsibility for anyone attempting projects or procedures described therein.
The first issue of Work was published on March 23rd, 1889. The goal of this project is to release digital copies of the individual issues starting on the same date in 2012, effectively republishing the materials 123 years to the day from their original release.
The original printing was on thin, inexpensive paper. There are many cases of uneven inking and bleed-through from the page behind. Our copies of Work come from bound library volumes of these issues and are subject to unfavorable trimming, missing covers, etc. To minimize harm to these fragile volumes, we've undertaken the task of scanning the books ourselves. We do considerable post processing of the scans to make them clear but please bear with us if a margin is clipped too close, or a few words are unreadable. We would like to thank James Vasile and Karl Fogel for their help in supplying us with a book scanner and generally enabling this project to get off the ground.
You are welcome to download, print, and pretty much do what you want with the scan for your own personal purposes. Feel free to post a link or a copy on your blog or website. All we ask is a link back to the original project and this blog. We are not answering requests for commercial downloads or reprinting at this time.
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